Raising Changemakers:
Stories and Activities for Changemaking at Home
A toolkit for educators with stories and activities on how parents and guardians canactivate young people to create positive change.

WELCOME
How do we deal with change? Be a Changemaker.
It is no surprise that our lives have been significantly disrupted as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic. As teachers, you see more than anyone how important it is to be able to adapt
quickly to change and steer it in a positive direction, for your students, their families andyourselves.
That is why being a changemaker is critical for each and every one of us and requiresa particular set of skills that need to be practiced. And the earlier the better.
Changemaking, that is facing a problem, creating a solution and mobilizing othersaround your idea, is a powerful experience that will make you confident the next time
you face a challenge, again and again. Not having this experience is contributing to agreater division in our society between those who are able to adapt to change and thrive
and those who cannot.
In the face of school closures and distance learning, Ashoka has compiled a resource forteachers to share with parents and/or incorporate into your teaching to bring a light ofpositivity and possibility to this uncertain time.
The Changemaker Story Series, is a series of short videos and written stories that show
the power of young people --in their teens-- who are changing their worlds in both small
and big ways. The goal of the series is to give young people and their parents aframework for starting or advancing their own changemaking journeys. How might
they contribute positively to the current situation whether in their homes, online or inthinking through ways that our post-pandemic world can be better?

2How too us
use the toolkit:

We invite you share one changemaker story a day for a week with your students
and their parents. The materials are directed at parents given the role that manyare playing as intermediaries and stewards of the distance learning process.
Story discussions about the stories can be guided as part of a classroom activity or as
homework for students to discuss with their families.
We have also provided a series of basic questions for parents to drive conversations
with their children around what inspired them, who helped and supported them, andwho have they impacted, These questions also help draw out some of the key skills eachyoung

persondemonstrates-empathy,

teamwork,

sharedleadershipandchangemaking.
Have stories to contribute? Ideas on how to improve this resource? As educators, wewant to hear from you and get your feedback about what is helpful or what is missing tobring the conversation around young changemaking to your students and their families.
Upon completing the series, you can access more stories and also continue the work byhelping support your students in initiating their own ideas as part of their learning journeyin school.

Check out more resources and stories on our website:www.ashoka.org

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o to use t is too kit

changemaker

story

4

hristian ( olorado, USA) hen hristian noticed that students wereleaving messes in his school hallways, he saw
an opportunity to promoteinterconnectedness between students, staff,
and custodians. hristian’s story shows anexample of what any young person can doto change something they care about intheir schools by wor ing through school
clubs and mobili ing other students.

ounger i s
tories or ki s ages

toJoshua (Florida, USA)At the age of , Joshua was struc by thereality of homelessness. ith the help of hisfamily, he started a networ of young people
that give caring, hope and help to those
suffering from poverty, hunger, andloneliness. Joshua’s story shows how early
early changema ing can start, theimportance of family support, teamwor andempowering other young people along theway.

Read and watch his story here.

Peyton (Pennsylvania, USA) eyton created the lobal inds nitiative
when she was , to help students confront
stereotypes and discrimination at her school.
eyton’s story shows how to lead whileempowering others as she spreads her wor
through students across the .S. stepping up
co lead her initiative.

Read and watch his story here.

Read and watch her story here.
Morgan (Kentucky, USA)n response to a traumatic experience withbullying when she was young, organ
stepped up to launch the uess Anti
ullying oundation based in entuc y to
spread indness and awareness aroundmental health. organ’s story shows how
parents can play a critical role as allies toyoung changema ers and how stepping up,however hard to do, builds confidence andperseverance.

Josh (Arizona, USA) After meeting a friend’s brother who loved
to play soccer but was excluded from theteam because he has Down’s Syndrome,
Josh became determined to find a way for all
to be players. Josh’s story highlights thepower of empathy for the good of all and theimportance of young people following theirown passions.

Read and watch her story here.

Read and watch his story here.
5Sanjana ( angalore, ndia)

idd e Years

At , San ana started an initiative to address
the lac of hygienic menstrual practices andto provide access to menstrual products forfemales from marginali ed areas of ndia.
San ana’s story demonstrates how empathy
and shared leadership has helped her build astrong team girls and boys ali e to lead thisgender e uity initiative.

Stories for kids ages 11 to 1
Laya (Texas, USA) Demonstrating the power of technology asa tool for social change, aya and her friend
co designed ydroAlert to create analternative, low cost, lifesaving system toalert residents about dangerous flooding onroads in their area. aya’s story shows theimportance of empathy in identifying ey
problems in one’s community, pathways forand how families can provide
girls in S
early exposure to changema ing building
bloc s.

Read and watch her story here.

Katie (Wisconsin, USA) Amidst a rise in youth organi ing, atie
e uips youth led advocacy organi ations
with the connections, resources, andencouragement they need to grow. atie’s
story highlights how successfulchangema ers start with simple ideas, thepower of connecting young changema ers
for collective action and the case for why
schools should be a place to support youngchangema ing.

Read and watch her story here.
Bonus: Hear from Laya and her dad on what
it s like to raise a changemaker.
hirag (Washington State, USA)hirag experienced early on how lin ing
social change wor and volunteering to id’s
own passions was the recipe for young
people’s engagement in social change. ecreated reative hildren for harity tocombine art, entrepreneurship andtechnology to promote youth engagementin changing their communities. hirag’sstory shows the power of teamwor andtechnology in young changema ing.

Read and watch her story here.

Ara (Jakarta, ndonesia)
Ara s story shows how an early start atchangema ing growing out of her passion
for cows set her on a changema ing pathway
for life. Ara’s story demonstrates theimportance of parent support andencouragement in following one’s passions.

Read and watch his story here.

Read and watch her story here.
8igh chool
tories or ki s ages

Mahika ( alifornia, USA) -to

ahi a alepete believes in the power ofyouth to change their communities. hroughA A A nternational, she is tapping theproblem solving potential of youth indeveloping communities around the world.
ahi a’s story demonstrates a new ind ofleadership. ne where everyone leads.

Garvita ( angalore, ndia)
arvita s initiative hy aste’, started at theage of , is conducting awarenesscampaigns for the public and helping
restaurants identify the various ways inwhich they can save resources. arvita’sstory highlights the important s ills youneed to practice in order to be achangema er.

Read and watch her story here.
arlla (Manaus, razil)
arlla experienced ine ualities in the public
education system in ra il and lac ofresources for science education. She
launched ro ecto osmos, an initiative inpublic schools to bring Astronomy todisadvantaged ids as a way to awa en
scientific and critical thin ing in the face ofwidespread mis information that is affecting
civic engagement in the country. arlla’s
story highlights the importance ofencouragement from parents and teachersand how valuable shared leadership is in
growing one’s initiative.

Read and watch her story here.

Luiz enrique (Amazon region, razil)
rowing up in an indigenous community inan extractive reserve of ar in ra il’s
Ama on region, ui enri ue saw the lacof youth voice in decisions about the futureof his community. e created a system for
preparing and including young people fromindigenous communities into local
government decision ma ing aroundenvironmental conservation of the world’s
most precious natural resource the Ama on.
ui enri ue’s story highlights theimportance of young changema ers
empowering other young people aschangema ers.

Read and watch her story here.
tit ed c ic

Victor ( alifornia, USA) ictor saw a gap in how what he learned inschool related to his own life and that of thecommunity. ictor and his team provide aspace for young people to explore their
passions while developing the necessary
s ills to start their lifelong changema ing
ourneys in their communities.

Read and watch his story here.
tit ed c ic

or n ishor n ishRead and watch his story here.

7deas for o to ra ti eange aking at o e
i e

ti it

deas

hese changemaker stories aim to inspire and engage your family around positive change that every
family member can do. As parents, you can help your child advance in their ourney as changema ers.
Depending on their age, here are a few ideas that can help

1n ourage our i d to s are t e stories they iked t e ost it t eir tea ers
and or eers
sk t e to t ink of ot er a s t e ou d s are it t eir s oo
net ork s oo ne s etter intranet or irtua asseies
dentif toget er as a fa i
a s to su ort neig ors or fa io eu
it ideas t at ou an ork on as a fa in ourage tea
ork on tasks t at need to aorking s oo ing

eers in needen in t e ouse o d and in

ut our kids in arge of so et ing in t e ouse o d ike e ing
si ing anning ea s eaning and organi ing fun a ti ities

anaging

it a ounger

at is a funda enta and riti a skie
our i d ref e t on o t eira tions ake ot ers fee in t e ouse o d it t eir friends on ine in t eir distan eearning en iron ents
fter ie ing t e stor ask
at t e t ink t e oungange aker as fee ing
en t e sa t e ro e
ad a set a k oro i i ed ot ers around t eir idea

our dditiona

esour es

ead the parent s guide to changema er conversations at home.

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hec out these resources for parents and guardians, including videos andpodcasts about raising changema ers.
Share this hangema er ool it to introduce other young people tochangema ing.

3earn what other young changema ers are doing in response to the pandemic.

4You can find more stories like these at http://www.ashoka.org
9NEXT STEPSCongratulations! Activating others to find their changemaking poweris something to celebrate.
We know from experience that when you have started making change happen aroundyou, it’s not easy to stop. We are here to help you grow your movement and to support
you in the journey of enabling more and more parents, families, and youngchangemakers around you. We are excited to see your impact!
Some things you can do to grow the movement are:SHARE
Use #EveryoneAChangemaker to share on social media what actions you are taking
to advance the movement. You will inspire other young changemakers like you tofollow suit, and, who knows, they may also decide to start their own changemakerjourney.

SEND TO A FRIEND
Share this toolkit with a friend or teacher. What activities could you do together tospark young changemakers in your home, school, or community?

CREATE
Create your own changemaker story based on your own experience or someone
you know well. Get creative with the activities and build new ones for existing ornew stories.

SIGN UP
Receive regular email updates for more stories of power young people creatingchange in their communities, resources for parents and educators, and more.

CHECK OUR WEBSITE
Visit http://www.ashoka.org for new stories and activities. Get inspired by thethousands of changemakers around the world leading a new path forward.

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AboutAshoka

Ashoka identifies and supports the world’s leading social entrepreneurs, learns fromthe patterns in their innovations, and mobilizes a global community to embrace theseveryone a hangemaker world. Learn more
new frameworks and build an
about our movement with this animated video.
We create and share stories to demonstrate what our world would look like if every young
person had the confidence and skills to be a changemaker. These stories aim to inspireyoung people to be bold and creative, and parents and educators to promote these kind ofgrowing up experiences, in order to make young changemaking the new norm.

http://www.ashoka.org

#LeadYoung

AboutAshoka

www.ashoka.org

www.ashoka.org